Nut cracking machine



1945- I L. K. MAULSBY Re 22,797

- NUT CRACKING MACHINE Original Filed March 5, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.2 Km amazes I Oct. 1, 1946.

L. K. MAULSBY ETAL NUT CRACKING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed March 5, 1942 v INVENTORS L. K. MAuLsBY E1- AL Re 22,797

NUT CRACKING MACHINE Oct. 1, 1946',

Original Filed March 5, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet s IN VEN TORS Reissued Oct. 1, 1946 NUT CRACKmG MACHINE Leon K. Maulsby and John A. McGrann, San Antonio, Tex., said McGrann assig-nor to said Maulsby Original No. 2,319,820, dated May 25, 1943, Serial No. 433,412, March 5, 1942.

Application for reissue September 29, 1943, Serial No. 504,322

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a machine of the character disclosed in Patent No. 2,226,475 granted on an application filed by Delbert La Ferney, said invention being assigned to Leon K. Maulsby and said Letters Patent being issued to said Leon K. Maulsby on the 24th day of December, 1940. The invention also relates to a machine of the character disclosed in Patent No. 2,273,759 granted to Leon K. Maulsby on the 17th day of February, 1942.

An object of the present invention is the provision of means for delivering the nuts into position between the cracking dies of the machine in such manner that the longitudinal axis of the nut will be in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the cracking dies. In the pecan shelling industry, for which this machine is particularly suited, it has been found that when the longitudinal axis of the nut is in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the cracking dies and the proper crushing travel of the die is proportioned to correspond with the length of the nut that the nut kernels are easily separable from the fragments of the crushed shell. However, if the long axis of the nut is not in alignment with, and centered with, the direction of the crushing force exerted by the dies a cripple crack is pro duced and removal of the nut kernels from the shell fragments is extremely diflicult. Obviously, any means of aligning and centering the long axis of the nut with relation to the direction of the crushing force will facilitate the removal of the nut kernels from the shell fragments and increase the quantity of kernels recovered from the shell fragments thus resulting in reduced operating costs and a more complete shelled kernel.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means whereby the nuts are delivered into position between the Cracking dies with a minimum of agitation. If the nut is delivered into position between the cracking dies at a relatively high velocity, or if the element employed for aligning the nut with the dies is in motion, the nut will be subject to a certain amount of agitation which will, in many instances, result in nus-alignment of the long axis of the nut with the longitudinal axis of the cracking dies. practice, that any motion of the nut at the time of contact with the cracking die may result in mis-alignment of the nut with the dies and thereby produce an imperfect crush of the shell. By delivering the nut into position between the cracking dies and depositing the nut into a centering element at low velocity and with a rolling t has been found, in'

motion it is assured that the nut will be motionless when it is contacted by the cracking dies.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of friction locking means between the carriage and slide of the machine whereby all ratchet's, pawls, racks and pinions may be eliminated and in which the variations of crush travel will not be limited by the pitch of such ratchet teeth, as formerly. It has been found during the construction of the machines disclosed in the above mentioned Patents No. 2,226,475 and No. 2,273,759 that a large amount of time and labor was consumed in the installation of the various ratchets, pawls, racks and pinions and, furthermore, the increments of crush travel imparted to the cracking die depended upon the pitch of the ratchet teeth and, even though a Vernier arrangement of the pawls was employed, the increments of crush travel were not always pro-. portional to the length of the nut being cracked. Furthermore, if the ratchet teeth and their engaging member were not in nearly perfect alignment, slippage occurred which resulted in an imperfect crack to the nut and strippingv or the teeth in the ratchet lock means. By the provision of friction locking means herein disclosed, the time and labor required for the construction of the machine is substantially reduced and, since this is a friction lock, the increments of crush travel of the cracking die Will not be dependent upon the pitch of ratchet teeth but will, at all times, be proportional to the length of the nut being cracked.

A Iurther object of the invention is the provision of a locking mechanism whereby the replacement of the locking element, alter becoming Worn or damaged,-may be made by the operator of the machine at a minimum of expense. In the prior types of machines the entire ratchet and ratchet engaging member, whether said ratchet was located on the slide or on a pinion shaft, required renewal or the component parts after wear, or strippage of the ratchet teeth. In the locking mechanism described in the following specification the only part required for repair or the locking mechanism is a renewal of the 3 which the machine is inoperative Owing to such replacements.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following specification.

These objects are accomplished as described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the various views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan of the machine, with the rear portion of the hopper broken away;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, taken on the line 22 Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view (partly broken away) taken on the line 44 Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 4 but showing an alternate position of the component parts; 7 a

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view, partly in elevation, and corresponding somewhat to the right hand end of Fig. 2

Fig. '7 is a sectional view, partly in elevation,

taken on the line 'I'I Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but illustrating the relative positions of the. parts when. the slide and carriage ofthe machine are in locked relation during the crushing action; and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged perspective. view of the nut delivery wheel.

In describing'the invention,..attention is first invited to Figs. 1, 2 and 3. in the drawings. In

these figures it will be noticed that a base, generaliy denoted by the numeral I, acts as a support for a hopper 2 from which the nuts are transported, by means of a conveyor chain 3 to a chute 4 leading to a housing 5 forming an integral portion of the base I which housing par-- tially encloses a nut delivery wheel 5 rotating in the direction indicated b the arrows in the various views.

In operation of the machine the nuts are con-- veyed singly from the hopper 2 and deposited intothe chute 4 leading to the housing 5. The timing of the chain 3 and the spacing of the cups I issuch that each nut deposited into the chute 4- will enter the housing 5 at the required time interval to land betweenadjacent blades 8 of the wheel 6 so that only one nut will occupy the space between any two adjacent blades atone time. This timing and spacing of the cups-I of the chain 3 is necessary in order that only one nut at a. time will be delivered to the cracking dies of the machine. Obviously, if more than one nut at a time is delivered to the cracking dies an improper crush to the nut shells will result.

After entering the housing 5 between adjacent blades 8 of the wheel 6 the nut follows the blade of the wheel around the wheel enclosing periphcry 9 until it reaches the lowermost position therein whereupon it comes to rest until the succeeding blade of the wheel 6' engages the nut and, in a rolling action, carries the'nutto the limit of the enclosing periphery and deposits it onto a pair of trough-like traps'ID and II re-- spectivelywhich center the nut in proper relaof the wheel 6 and the periphery 9 of the hous ing 5, to bring the long axis of the nuts into alignment with the direction of crushing force exerted b the cracking dies.

Since the long axis of the nut, in its travel through the wheel 5 and the housing 5, is brought into parallel alignment with the direction of crush exerted by the cracking dies, and as the movement of the nut after leaving the blade 8 of the wheel 6 until it settles in the traps I0 and II is negligible, the nut will come to rest, and be centered in the traps I 0 and II, at a low velocity and with a minimum of agitation. Thus, the longitudinal axis of the nut will be in alignment with, and center with, the crushing action of the cracking dies;

It has been found, in the art of cracking pecans, that any restraining force against the sides of the nut during the time the longitudinal crushing force is being applied to the nut will result in an imperfect crush to the shell and render the kernels difficult to remove from the shell fragments. For this reason, the traps I0 and II, which serve to center the nut with relation to the cracking dies, are timed to move out of engagement with the nut immediately upon, or slightly preceding, the crushing force exerted by the dies. This timing of the traps I0 and I I may be explained with reference to Figs. 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings, in which Figs. 3 and 4 represent corresponding views of the trap positions at the beginning of the forward movement of the cracking die. In Figs. 3 and 4 the traps are shown in what may be termed a normally closed position and are held in this position by a spring I2, attached at one end to the base I of the machine and at its other end to a connecting link l3 connecting bell-cranks and pivoted at the points I4 and I5 respectively of the traps Ill and I I. The traps I0 and I I are pivoted to the frame I and the housing 5 of the machine at the points I6 and I I respectively. Thus, the action of the spring I2 on the connecting link I3 serves to hold the traps III and II normally in the positions,

blades 8 in the wheel 8. The cam I9 is mounted tion to the cracking, dies.

on a shaft 2 I, upon which shaft is also mounted the wheel 6 and the gear 22, driven by the pinion 23 mounted on the main drive shaft 24 of the machine. Thus, the cam I9 being timed with the main drive shaft 24, which governs the movement of the cracking dies, controls the movement of the traps III and II so that the traps I0 and II remain in their closed positions, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, until contact of the nut by the cracking die, whereupon the traps recede from contact with the nut and assume their open positions until after the cracking die has reached its furthermos-t position from the mating die in order to give the'crushed nut time to be discharged beneath the machine. The peripheral dwell of the cam rises 20 is proportioned to allow only s'uflicient time for discharge of the crushed nut whereupon it disengages with the roller I8 and allows the traps Ill and II to assume their closed positions preparatory to receiving the next nut.

It is apparent from the foregoing explanation, that the timing of the chain 3, the Wheel 6 and the cam I9 must all be synchronized with the drive shaft 24 in order to secure a proper delivery, crushing action and discharge of the nut from the machine.

The foregoing functions may be enumerated in the following manner; first, the nut must be delivered into position between the cracking dies with-fits long axis parallel to, and with centered relationto the cracking dies; second, the nut must bedelivered into its cracking position in such manner that it will be practically stationary upon contact with the cracking die; third, the traps must recede from the nut immediately upon, or slightly prior to, the application of the crushing force by the dies; fourth, the trapsmust remain in their open position long enough to permit discharge of the crushed nut and, fifth, the traps must resume their closed position prior to the beginning of travel of the cracking die on its next crushing stroke, in order to receive the succeeding nut.

The wheel 6 is preferably constructed as shown in the perspective view of Fig. 9. Here, it will be noticed that the spaces between the blades 8 at the sides of the wheel are enclosed by thin discs which may be either bolted or riveted to the sides of the wheel 5. It has been found that when the spaces between theblades 8, at the sides of the wheel, are left open that the nuts, in their rolling motion through the housing 5, would occasionally roll into contact with the stationary sides of the housing, and when this occurred the nuts were thrown out of proper alignment with the cracking dies of the machine, By enclosing the sides of the wheel, the nut, in rolling to either side; will contact one of the moving discs 25 which will act as a pivot for the ends of the nuts.

Attention is here invited to Figs. 6, 7 and 8 which views illustrate the various actuating elements for the cracking die. In Fig. 6 it will be seenthat the main drive shaft 24 of the machine and a carriage 21 are mounted in parallel bearings supported by the base i. The shaft 24 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow and is provided with a pair of cams 28 and 29 whose functions will be explained later. The left hand end of the shaft 24 carriesthe pinion 23 and a nected to the motor 35 by the belt 36. Thus-the drive for the conveyor chain 3, the Wheel 6. the cam l9 and the two cams 2B and 29 is completed and synchronized.

The carriage 21 is mounted for axial movement in the base I and, while the bearings at each end of the carriage are round, a fork 31 engaging with the drive shaft 24 prevents any rotative movement of the carriage. A slide 38 is mounted for sliding movement in a bore of the carriage 21' and is prevented from rotating by a block 39 projecting upwardly from the slide and extendin: through a slot 40 in the upper portion of the carriage 21. For convenience in describing the actions of the slide and carriage their left'hand positions will hereinafter be called their forward positions while their right hand positions will be called their rearward positions. Projecting downwardly from a point near the rear end of the carriage 2! is an. arm 41 into which is loosely fitted'the rear end of a spring guide rod 42, The forward end of the rod 42 is slidably supported in an arm 43 connected to, and extending downwardly from, the slide 38. The compression spring 44 is guided by the rod 42 and is held in contact with the arm 43 by the set collar 45 on the rod 42 thus securing a spring adjustment.

An examination of Figs. 2 and 6 will show that the action of the spring 44 between the arms 4| and 43"will normally tend to hold the carriage in its rearmost position and to hold the slide 38 in its foremost position, The reciprocal movement of the slide 38 is controlled by the cam 28 acting in conjunction withthe roller 46, the land traps Iii and H, and the admission of the succeeding'nut to the traps.

Since the cam 28 merely allows the slide 21 to move forwardly until engagement of the nut by the cracking ale and then returns the slide to its rearmost positionagainst the resistance of the spring 44 the following means is employed to impart the crushing force to the cracking die. Toward the rear end of the carriage 21 is provided a block 49 mounted for vertical sliding movement in the carriage 21. The body of the lock 49 fits into the circular bore 56 of the car-' riage while the lower portion 5! of the block is flattened and tapered on its lower face to correspond with a tapered keyway 52 cut in the rear end of the slide 2?. The upper end of the block 455 is provided with a roller 53 disposed in the path of the cam 29 on thedrive shaft 24. An examination of Fig. 6 will show that the height of the roller 53 depends upon the relativepositions oi the slide and carriage of the machine. Thus, when the slide occupies its rearmost position the roller Will occupy its uppermost position and when the slide occupies its foremost position the roller will be in its lowermost position. Obvi ousiy, the longer the nut being cracked the more rearward will be the position of the slide when the die contacts the nut and the higher will be the position of the roller 53. This is as it should be since the inclined face of the cam 29 imparts a length of crush travel to the slide and carriage that is proportional to the height of the roller 53, Therefore, the greater the length of the nut, the greater will be the length of crush travel imparted to the slide and carriage and, consequently, to the nut. This governing of the amount of crush imparted to the nut to correspend with its length is explained in Patent No.-

2,273,'759 granted to Leon K. Maulsby on the 17th day of February, 1942. Y

The slide 38 and the carriage 2'! are in locked relation during the time the shell of the nut is being crushed and this locking action is ac oomplished as illustrated in Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive of the drawings. In these figure-s it will be seen that a locking member 54 is interposed between the carriage 2"! and the slide 38, the member 54 being a close sliding fit on the slide 38, but relatively loose in the carriage 21. The locking member 54 is shown in the drawings as being a ring-like member'and has been likewise em: ployed in the actual machine owing to simplic ity of construction. However, it is to be understood that the slide 38 and the locking member 54 might be square, or any other desired shape, without affecting the principle of operation. An

inspection of Figs. 7 and 8, which are horizontal sectional views taken on the line 11 Fig. 6, will show that the lock 54 is confined against any appreciable axial movement by the walls of the carriage on one side while on the opposite side of the carriage the wall is cut away to allow a substantial amount of axial movement of the lock 54 in a rearward direction. The Walls of the carriage governing the foremost positions of each side of the lock 54 are formed so that a line drawn from the face of one wall to the face of the opposite wall will be perpendicular with the axis of the slide 38. From the side of the carriage 21 on which the lock 54 has its axial play, a. pair of supports 55 are provided to support the slidably mounted pin 56.. The pin 55 carries a flanged member 51 the flanges of which engage opposite sides of the lock 54 at its periphery for governing the position of that extremity of the lock. interposed between the forward support 55 and the flanged member 51 is a light compression spring 58 tending to hold the pin 56 and the flanged member 51 normally in their rearmost positions. Since the spring 44 (Fig. 6) is much stronger than the spring 56 and since the spring 44 holds the carriage 21 in its rearmost position at all times except when the cam 29 is in engagement with the roller 53, the position of the various part governing the position of the lock 54 will be as shown in Fig. 7 where the carriage is shown. in its rearmost position with the rear end of the pin 56 in abutment with a wedge shaped stop 55. Thus, when the carriage is in this position. the forward faces of the lock 54 will be perpendicular with respect to the axis of the slide 38 and. the slide can move freely through the lock 54. However, immediately upon engagement of the cam 29 with the roller 53 for imparting. the crush to the nut, the carriage begins. its forward motion and the action of the spring 58 on the flanged member 51 causes the lock 54 to assume the position shown in Fig. 8, thereby throwing the lock 54 out of perpendicular alignment with. the slide 38 and causing a binding action between the lock 54 and the slide 38. against the roller 53 and move the carriage forward the only portion of the carriage 21 that is in contact with the lock 54 is the projection 66 located ata side of. the lock 54 opposite the flanged member 51'. Obviously, the greater the force required for crushing the nut the tighter the lock 54 will grip the slide 38.

Immediately upon passage of the cam 29 from engagement with the roller 53, upon completion of the crush, the spring 44 again returns the carriage to its rearmost position whereupon the rear endof the-pin 56 in striking against the stop 59 will serve to compress the spring 58 and return the lock 54 into alignment with the slide 38.. The land 48 of the cam 28 acting against the roller 46 mounted on the slide then easily returns the slide to its rearmost position against the resistance of the spring 44, thus completing the cycle of operations.

It should be noted here that the actual bearing surface of the. lock 54 against the slide 38' is comparatively narrow since a wide bearing surface would prevent sufficient gripping power between the lock 54 and the slide 38. The only reason the lock 54 is 'made wider at any other Then, as the cam 29 continues to act 8. point is to provide the necessary strength against bursting stresses induced in the lock during the crushing of the nut.

It has been found that different operators of cracking machines require. varying proportions of crush for the nut, owing to variations in preconditioning the nut and to the variations of nut types. For this reason the stop 59 has been made wedge-shaped and provided With an extension 62 extending through a bearing 53. A set screw 64 is provided in the bearing 63 for securing the stop 59 in position after it is once set. In this construction moving the stop 59 inwardly will decrease the proportional amount of crush imparted to the nut while moving the stop 59 outwardly will increase the proportional amount of crush imparted to the nut.

It is to be understood that while the preferred construction of the invention is disclosed herein that such changes may be made in various models of the machine as-do not depart from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

We claim:

In combination, in a nut cracking machine, a drive shaft, a carriage in parallel alignment with said drive shaft, said carriage being mounted. for longitudinal movement with relation to said drive shaft, a slide mounted in said carriage for longitudinal movement with relation. to said carriage and said drive shaft, resilient means interposed between said carriage and said slide tending to hold said carriage in one direction and said slide in the opposite direction, a cam on said drive shaft governing in combination with said resilient means the longitudinal movement of said slide, a second cam on said drive shaft disposed to engage a roller mounted in said carriage for imparting longitudinal motion to said carriage, locking means between said slide and carriage, said locking means consisting of a ring closely fitting the diameter'of said slide and with a comparatively narrow axial bearing surface on said slide, an internal enlargement in said carriage for the reception of said ring, the internal ends of said enlargement being in perpendicular alignment with the axis of said slide at one end thereof for holding the axis of said ring in alignment with the axis of said slide and the opposite. end of said enlargement being provided with a shoulder engageable with one portion only of the periphery of said ring, means normally holding said ring in contact with said perpendicular end of said internal enlargementand securing true alignment of said ring with said slide and means opposed to said shoulder in said internal enlargement for moving that portion of said ring periphery out of engagement with the perpendicular end of said internal housing enlargement and into engagement with said shoulder to produce a nus-alignment between said ring and said slide whereby the action of said shoulder against the periphery of said ring will serve to lock said slide with relation to said carriage upon movement of. said carriage.

- LEON K. MAULSBY.

JOHN A. MCGRANN. 

